SEE Credit Partners
An Independent Debt Advisory Partnership
We are advising SMEs, in Romania and the wider South East Europe Region, on their corporate debt structuring and financing decisions. We find innovative alternative financial solutions for their growth capital needs.
About
Us
Our Story
The Case for SME Financing in ROMANIA
Romania is the sixth biggest country in the European Union by population and the eighth by land surface.
The economic recovery since the 2008 financial crisis is impressing, averaging 4.5% real GDP growth over the last 5 years.
In 2018, Romania’s GDP reached 202 Billion EUR, surpassing the economic size of Greece and Portugal and closing in to that of the Czechia. (source Eurostat)
The potential to continuous growth is significant considering that in GDP per capita terms Romania is still ranked second to last among the 27 countries, with 10.400 EUR in 2018.
While the business activity of the SMEs has been growing constantly over the last 29 years, since the emergence of the free market, the traditional model of financing by commercial banks is certainly not keeping up. More than two thirds of Romanian SMEs do not have bank financing as part of their development funding mix. As per a recent National Bank of Romania research, around 14 thousand SMEs active and performing through the last economic cycle have an aggregate financing need of 25 Billion Euros.
Who We Are
We are Bankers and Entrepreneurs who understand that the backbone of every country's economic development is the growth of SMEs and Mid Cap companies.
We do understand that banks alone cannot provide enough development capital and that companies need equity and equity-like capital in order to be able to grow up to their potential.
We also understand that local companies are not necessarily able to provide the expected level of corporate and financial governance that private equity money requires in order to invest.
Our aim is to prepare these promising companies to become modern corporates.
Our Strategy
Based on our deep knowledge of the SMEs in Romania and the extensive experience of our professionals with the local and international debt markets, we aim to provide comprehensive advice to our clients regarding the financing of their development. From plain vanilla bank financing to complex hybrid debt and equity structures, we tailor appropriate solutions to fit the growth opportunities of the corporates we are advising. Due to our extensive knowledge of the local and international investors we are able to source financing for SMEs and Small Mid Caps of between 5 to 50M Euros.
Services
Financial Advisory
We provide corporates in the developing markets of SEE with strategic advice regarding all aspects of their financial arrangements.
Debt Optimisation
Based on our in-depth understanding of the debt markets and the expertise of our professionals in designing optimal corporate funding structures, we strive to assist SMEs in maximising their growth potential.
Impact
We are advising SMEs in the implementation and improvement of Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance
Business Development
SMEs and Small Cap corporates in Romania and the wider SEE region find that, more often than not, financing their development is limited to commercial banks' availability to assume hard asset risks. We are seeking to provide these established and growing businesses with Alternative Finance solutions that take in consideration their existing business and its potential for growth.
Financial Solutions
Our expertise is wide ranged, from plain vanilla debt products such as bilateral, club, syndicated term loans to hybrid debt-equity structures, including structured finance and debt capital market instruments.
Team
Catalin Voloseniuc
26 years of experience in investment banking and asset management. He started his career in the Romanian Central Bank, worked for Creditanstalt (Bank Austria) in Romania and DEPFA BANK, DEKA BANK and COMMERZBANK in the United Kingdom. While based in London, he acted as head of CEE Loan Origination. He also set up and directed a Romanian based money market, open ended fund for foreign investors in 2004-2007 that exceeded EUR 100 Million of NAV. Since 2013 he returned to Romania in order to partner up with Sylvain Mercier in his boutique advisory , Murray Alexander&Co. He has held approvals from the National Bank of Romania, the Romanian FSA and UK’s FCA. He was awarded a BSc. in Mathematics from Bucharest University and has an Advanced Management Program Degree from Harvard Business School.
Cristian Ionescu
Managing Partner of Chartered Debt Management, a leading investment banking boutique in CEE, focused on serving mid-cap and large-cap corporate clients with custom-built creative solutions in areas such as: Corporate debt finance, Equity & capital raising, Alternative financing solutions, Corporate Debt Restructuring – Non-performing loans (NPLs) and Special opportunity funding.
Prior to his investment banking career he accumulated 10 years of experience in corporate management and business development as the Country Cluster Manager for the CEE region at Coface.
Cristian in an INSEAD 2008 Executive MBA Alumnus, and holds a BA title in International Economic Relationships as well as a Professional Management Diploma with Open University Business School.
Sylvain Mercier
40 years of experience in commercial and investment banking, the last 20 years at Board level. Began his career in Scotia Bank Canada and took on progressively challenging positions in Canada, Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East. Since 1997 he has concentrated his efforts in Eastern Europe, principally Romania where he led the startup of the Raiffeisen Bank Group as CEO and Country Head. Since 2001 he set up a financial advisory firm, Murray Alexander&Co, executing various mandates, including leading the local M&A advisory team for Erste Bank Group in their EUR 3, 7 Bio acquisition of the Romanian Commercial Bank (BCR). He has held approvals from the National Bank of Romania and the Romanian FSA.
Contact
Us
Our Address
10 Dr.Louis PASTEUR
050535 Bucharest
ROMANIA
Our Phone No.
+40 21 410 8383